Beijing, Feb 3 (IANS): China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) air force has dispatched eight large transport aircraft to Wuhan, with 795 military medical staff and 58 tonnes of supplies on board to help the city fight against the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Under the command of the Central Military Commission, the aircraft took off on Sunday from a military airport and headed for the cities of Shenyang, Lanzhou, Guangzhou and Nanjing to load, reports Xinhua news agency.

Once loaded with the medical staff and supplies, the aircraft took off again and arrived in Wuhan later in the day.

It is the largest number of large transport aircraft dispatched by the PLA air force in non-combat military operations after its disaster relief efforts in the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan province and the 2010 Yushu earthquake in Qinghai.

As of Monday morning, the virus has so far killed 361 people in China, with a total of 17,205 infected cases.

The Philippines on Sunday confirmed the first coronavirus death outside China.